446 MILCn-KINE. 



ing, and the quantity given by each cow is particularly noted. The 

 herd consisted of Raflfalea, 8 years old, whose milk failed the 21st of 

 April, and reappeared the 18th of June without her having calved ; — 

 La Paysanne, 7 years old, whose milk ceased the 21st of February, 

 and she calved the 29th of April ; — Prima Donna, 8 years old : milk 

 stopped February 19th, calved December 5th; — Formosa, 9 years 

 old : ceased milking 1st April, calved 2d June ; — La Gitana, 6 years 

 old: ceased milking 30th September, calved 9th November ; — Gala- 

 tea, 6 years old : ceased milking 9th July, calved 2d October : — Belle 

 et Bonne, 114 years old : ceased milking the 15th February, calved 

 3d April. These seven cows gave in the course of the year, neg- 

 lecting fractions, 30576 pints, or 3822 gallons of milk. In the month 

 of January, in round numbers, 1870 pints; in February, 1260 pints; 

 A[arch, 1260 pints ; April, 1657 pints; May, 2527 pints; June, 3726 

 pints ; July, 4180 pints, August, 3661 pints ; September, 2913 

 pints ; October, 2622 pints : November, 2540 pints ; December, 

 2360 pints ; having, one with another, given 546 gallons of milk, 

 and milked on an average 302.\ days each ; the entire herd having 

 milked during 2118 days, and the average c{uantity yielded by each 

 cow having been 14.6 say 14.^ pints for every day she was in milk ; 

 the quantity for each day of tlie year amounts to 11.9, say ]0 pints. 



June, July, and August arc obviously the months most productive 

 of milk, during which the cows had scarcely any other food than 

 clover. The average quantity for these months was undoubtedly 

 raised from three of the cows having calved in March, April, and 

 May, so that these were severally giving their largest measures dur- 

 ing the three summer months. 



It may be enough to state, that the largest quantity of milk is ob- 

 tained in the course of the three first months after calving ; the pro- 

 duce then will amount to 18, 20, and even 24 pints per day, while 

 the mean quantity during the whole time of milking will very little 

 exceed 12 pints. 



The observations for the year 1842, which I referred to some 

 short way back, showed a mean of 14.6. say 14A pints of milk for 

 each cow. But in the mode of reckoning pursued, there were 

 sources of error, which have been avoided in the estimates just 

 given. The only mode of securing accurancy of result is to take the 

 quantity of milk yielded by each cow between the period of calving 

 one year to the same event the following year. This mode of reck- 

 oning gives the quantity 13 jiinls per day for each cow, which I am 

 disposed to adopt as the standard for the Swiss breed, fed with 33 

 lbs. of good meadow-hay, or an e(|uivalent of wholesome roots, &c. 

 I am also disposed to look upon 310 as the mean number of days 

 during which a cow will give milk after calving. 



We sometimes see quantities of milk mentioned as given by par- 

 ticular cows that are truly surprising, and that seem even calculated 

 to excite suspicion of the veracity of the reporters. Some have 

 spoken of cows that gave 44 and 52.^ pints of milk a day for several 

 months. M. Crud says that cows of great size indeed have even 

 given as many as 70.4 pints in twenty-four hours ; and Thaer goes 



